First, let’s take a look at how the players who manned the DH position hit when they were in the lineup as a DH.

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Jose Guillen got the bulk of the duty at DH, which frankly is where he should have been for the last two years because of lingering leg injuries. In the 84 games which Guillen hit in the DH slot, he was pretty average. It’s not what one would hope for $12 million a season, however he wasn’t exactly the glaring hole some assumed he was.

The only other players who had more than nominal DH duty were Billy Butler and Kila Ka’aihue, the two players who will most likely get the vast majority of the starts at the position in 2011. It shouldn’t shock anyone at this point that Billy Butler can hit the ball, and 2010 was no exception. Kila’s line is instructive. He was pretty close to an average DH offensively, but he does in in an unorthodox manner. His OBP would have been 6th in the chart below and his slugging percentage would be 8th, however his batting average would have been thirteenth.

As a unit, the Royals designated hitters ranked 7th in the American League. Once again the Royals find themselves pretty close to the middle offensively. Doing this exercise opened my eyes to the fact that the offense was not that bad in 2010. Jose Guillen is the biggest influence on those numbers, and it’s clear by the low walk rate, high strikeout rate and decent slugging.

2011 will be completely different with Jose Guillen gone and Butler and Ka’aihue likely to take the at bats. 2011 will be in many ways a make-or-break year for Kila. The Royals are beginning to graduate some of their impact corner bats like Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and even Clint Robinson. Kila is likely to get all of 2011 to showcase his talents to the Royals and the rest of the MLB. If he can repeat his minor league performance, the Royals will have a very difficult decision to make in regards to their future at first base and designated hitter.

Either way, 2011 will be interesting to watch because they will have a young legitimate hitter at both first and DH. If they can anchor the middle of the lineup, it’s possible the Royals could improve offensively. Clearly, they’ll need to to overcome the recent loss of Zack Greinke from the pitching rotation.

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I wonder if the Rays would have interest in Kaaihue (or Robinson) and Tejeda for their needs at 1B and RP? None of those 1B/DH guys probably figure in KC long term, and Tejeda should have some value.

Written by marcus about 4 years ago.

How do you figure that Kila does not figure into the long term? He had a hand full of AB’s this last year which is not enough to make a decision on his future with the team. If he can produce his AAA stats up in the majors then not only do you have a hot bat but his D is alot better than Buttler.

Written by Abh about 4 years ago.

Seems to me the Club has never acted like it had a lot of faith in KK to start with. However, if Hosmer were to be a bust, it would good for them to keep Kila around for a few years… but he’s not likely to fit on a roster that includes Hosmer and Butler (the first being reportedly a better fielder, and the second being RH, younger, and a better hitter). Of course if Kila starts hot in 2010 his trade value would increase from where it is now. There’s also Robinson standing by in a pinch and the fact that 1B/DH is where failed position players with decent bats often end up. Nothing personal against the guy, just curious if DM will continue to make moves that subract from 2011 in favor of 2012-13-14.

Written by marcus about 4 years ago.

I would not say the club has not had a whole lot of faith in him to start because when all the trades went down he was one of the first to be brought up. Second I remember the “free Kila” campaign and how every one was so tired of him not getting his chance, and now that he does you are willing to just give up on him allready. I get that Hosmer is another possible stud in the log jam that is first base for the royals, but i also understand that going back to my conversation yesterday with clark that Hosmer is being asked to take some reps in RF. What would be so over the top to think that Kila could start at first Butler at DH and Hosmer in RF. when you add in moose at 3rd Pena or May at C Escobar SS Aviles 2nd either Cain or Will myers or Gordon rounding out the OF, that sounds like a 2013 playoff team to me.

Written by Abh about 4 years ago.

releasing him would be giving up on him, trading him would not be in my mind. anyway, it’s probably a moot point. your scenario could very well play out, and kila could certainly end up being a good player, which i would thoroughly enjoy seeing. i would be against moving hosmer to the OF, but they generally don’t consult me on these things (or trade scenarios for that matter).

Written by marcus about 4 years ago.

Well they dont consult me either, but I am curious why you would be opposed to finding a spot for hosmer in the OF. If you ask me I would wrather see him there than milk’e and jeffy lockerroom.

Honestly, I can’t really guage what the Royals plan to do with Kila. I’m pretty sure they play him everyday for at least the first half of this season regardless of how well he hits. The rest is kind of up to him. However a deadline trade wouldn’t shock me one bit.

Written by Kyle about 4 years ago.

At some point in time won’t the Royals be good enough to keep a guy like Kila on the bench? I mean what is wrong with having a big left handed power hitting bat on the bench that can take a walk? He probably won’t start getting expensive for another 3 years or so. That way they play Butler at DH, Hosmer 1B, C.Robinson or Kila on the bench. Cain, Myers, Gordon, D.Robinson as the outfielders. Colon 2B and Escobar SS up the middle in 2012 sounds like a pretty solid defense.

Written by Zack Daddy about 4 years ago.

Just some input regarding Kila…he’s a pompous jerk. A real a$$. Teammates think so, too. He is definitely not Jeffy Lockerroom. However, if KC can’t sign Billy longterm in the coming months and Kila has a decent season, I could see Billy getting traded. Remember that Dayton, from day one, has always talked about trading from the team’s strengths. Right now, it’s loosely first base followed closely by lefthanded minor league pitching. Of all that, Billy is the most marketable and brings the most in return.

Written by fb0252 about 4 years ago.

i have heard an extensive Ka aihue radio interview–about 30 minutes, concerning his weight lifting regime, improvement that he attributes to that, etc. he was anything but a pompous jerk, and more a thoughtful soft spoken person in that interview.

Written by seelztlb about 4 years ago.

Kyle,

The problem with keeping Kila on the bench is that what he may bring back in a trade is worth more than what he provides as a bench player. Corner infielders with power for the bench are a dime a dozen. Hell, we already have one in Clint Robinson. If Kila, Butler and Hosmer are all able to produce at the big league level (and that is a BIG if even for an optimist like me) then the best thing the Royals can do is pick two and sell high on the other one.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Kila’s personality. I’ve never met or spoken with him though, so I can’t speak authoritatively.

Written by Deep Dixie Blue about 4 years ago.

I think Ka’aihue and Gordon are the keys to the offense this year. If KK can hit like he did in Sept/Oct (261/367/511/878) and Alex can hit like he did in 2008 (260/351/432/783) then the Royals should have a better than average offense. Both played good defense in their two month stints last year, too.

However, if either puts up numbers like their 2010 season totals (Gordon 215/315/355/671; Kila 217/307/394/702) then I suspect they will be gone by the ASG.

Written by marcus about 4 years ago.

I still dont think 200+ AB’s is enough this year to decide what we need to do with Kila by the ASG. Gordon i would aggree with, if he is not at least hitting 250/340/430 by then, then yes he may be gone.

Written by jim fetterolf about 4 years ago.

Assuming that the Alabama Hammer, Robinson, or Hosmer light up AAA the first half of the season, I see Butler as the most expendable and likely to draw the highest return in trade. He’s an indifferent defender, slow, and a singles, doubles, and double play hitter, so not ideal either for 1st or DH. I think Kila will be fine at 1st and think that the AA triple crown winner at least deserves a fair shot at the show, as we could use a little power in the line up as well as better defense. We might see ’12 starting with Hosmer at 1st and Robinson DH with the other two traded.

Written by Kyle about 4 years ago.

Kila still has two years of minimum salary, right? Then 3 more years of cost controlled arbitration. Yes C.Rob might be as good of an option, but he also might bust. It would be nice if the Royals could keep some of the supposed talent for a few years. Having a little power in the lineup and on the bench is not a bad thing. Having good defense and speed in the lineup and on the bench is good. We do not need to go and sign players like Bloomquist ever again.

Written by Zack Daddy about 4 years ago.

Well, I’ve seen Kila blow off kids for autographs all of the time in ST. He simply IGNORES requests. I can’t speak to how I know, but minor league teammates have talked about his distance with his personality. It may be more of a Greinke thing…he’s not pompous. Just unique. We’ll see. Now that Greinke is gone, teammates are starting to reveal a little about how poor of a teammate he was.

Also, I think the Moose callup also depends on how well Getz starts off a 2B. If he is crappy, Moose gets called up sooner and Aviles moves to 2B until Colon is ready. The return on Aviles in a trade will likely be similar to Callaspo.

Written by Andrew J Overton about 4 years ago.

Kila will get his chance to prove that he can hit in the bigs this year. But what is forgotten in the comments is that this will be Kila’s 27 year old season and Butler’s 25 year old season. Even if Kila starts hitting like he did in the minors, I would rather hold on to Butler entering his prime then Kila leaving his prime.

With as much room as there is in the budget now, Billy should be able to be signed through his year 29 season. That would be 5 more years of Billy with the younger (minor-league callups) hitters reaching arbitration at the end of his contract. Plus it is always nice to see the organization reward performance and loyalty.

Written by Ted about 4 years ago.

I would like to see Kila and Butler hitting next to one another in the lineup all season, and, preferably, for at least two seasons. If Kila becomes the power hitting on-base machine we think he can be, this could prove the most potent hitting duo we have seen in KC for quite some time (I cannot think, off the top of my head, of a good reference; Beltran and Sweeney, probably).

Hosmer and Robinson might both figure in KC’s future (particularly Hosmer), but that time is not now. I would like to see what we already have before we start shipping them off in anticipation of what we might have in another year or two.

Also, if Hosmer is athletic enough to handle left field, I am all for it, starting in spring training 2011. Maybe they don’t want to mess with him. I don’t know. But with a logjam at 1B/DH, and a need in the outfield, why not give it a try? These, of course, are the sorts of calculations that fantasy baseball GMs make, and perhaps there are legitimate baseball reasons to keep Hosmer at 1B. So I won’t gnash my teeth about it or anything. Just seems like a nice flexibility builder.

Finally, go Hawkeyes. This looks like it will be a darn good game.

Written by Ted about 4 years ago.

On the topic of the Insight Bowl, does the logo look oddly phallic to anyone else? Looks like big dildo to me (sorry for the explicit comment).

With all the DH-type players still available, I almost wish that we could have waited a little longer and signed someone like Vlad or Manny. They could play a little outfield and DH every now and then and we would have a hitter who can really mash. I wonder if the team could benefit from having a real homerun threat like that on the team. It could possibly push Butler to try to dial in more of a power stroke. . . . And, we could do our famous move of flipping them at the deadline.

Written by Abh about 4 years ago.

I have been more disappointed they haven’t even been associated with a pitcher other than Millwood.

Written by James about 4 years ago.

Why? The way the FA market looks guys like Millwood are going to bring more than they are worth. So for a team that everyone knows is not going to contend for anything other than the top draft pick, why go out and over spend when you don’t need to? I would not overpay Millwood just to fill a hole for possibly two years. And on the log jam at 1B/DH. Moore has stated that Defense is a must. Callaspo’s defense or lack thereof is what made him expendable. Butler I feel is in the same boat, Given that he had a top 5 performance defensively in Royals history at 1st as far as Fielding percentage goes. He still has little to no range. Which is why I feel he could be let go, IF one of the younger guys i.e. Robinson or Hosmer shows they can field the position better. Kila needs more AB’s to show if he fits in the picture, I feel with time he will show fans what we saw in Omaha. But I feel he is also expendable. For a team moving towards a youth movement we have two very young and high ceiling guys waiting. But as a diehard Royals fan waiting to revive 85’ I say the Royals unload Butler and Kila by 2012 and Hosmer and Robinson become the next Mark Quinn and Ken Harvey.

Written by kcrb about 4 years ago.

i wish everybody would look at the stats of the 85 world series team….they weren’t great, but good enough then…. but wouldn’t be good enough today

Written by Ted about 4 years ago.

The ’85 team was about pitching first, they played pretty good defense and the offense was slightly below average. Wouldn’t be good enough to win today? I think the 2010 Giants profile as pretty similar to the ’85 Royals. Also, the ’85 team was old, another similarity with the Giants.

Sure, maybe compared to today’s teams the ’85 Royals don’t have stats that make your eyes pop, but they weren’t playing today’s teams, and in 1985 only two American League teams finished the season with better records.

Written by Ted about 4 years ago.

So I got hooked a bit, and spent some time over at baseball reference, comparing the ’85 Royals with the 2010 Giants. They are remarkably similar.

Both teams finished with a team OPS+ of 95. Slightly below league average offense? Check.

The Giants had a team ERA+ of 121, best in the NL. The Royals’ team ERA+ was 119, second best to Toronto’s 130 (130!). Exceptional pitching? Check.

Both teams were slightly better than league average on defense, as measured by fielding percentage. I know, not a great measurement, but I don’t really want to spend all day figuring this out. One advanced measure that baseball reference uses has the Giants among the national league’s best teams for fielding, and shows the Royals as being about middle of the pack. Don’t really know what to say, maybe the Giants were a substantially better fielding team than the ’85 Royals.

Anyway, the teams are kind of freakishly similar.

Written by Ted about 4 years ago.

Also, just spit-balling a few teams that recently won who might not knock you out with their stat sheets.

I don’t wish for them to acquire Millwood, I wish for them to improve the rotation, thus my dismay at Millwood being the only pitcher they had (rumored) kicked the tires on. I’d prefer to avoid 60 starts of Davies/O’Sullivan, but for EITHER of those to be knocked from the rotation, they would need to add TWO pitchers (from within or without) to the group… within looks more likely at this point. Perhaps Teaford (26?) or Crow (24?) will prove to be good enough/ready to pitch in KC before August.

Written by James about 4 years ago.

Well I will agree with you that the 85’ Royals were not the greatest team to ever grace the diamond. They only had 2 players bat over .270(Brett .335, Wilson .278) as a team they only come in the top 5 in two categories offensively SB-2ND and3B-2nd. But pitching wise they ranked in the top 5 in 10 categories (Wins, Era, SHO, SV, IP, H, HR, R, ER, BB) as a staff their WHIP was 1.2. So yeah I think that pitching staff was more than “good enough”

Written by Ted about 4 years ago.

Also, the ’85 Royals had arguably the most productive offensive player in Brett, and probably without much argument two of the top five starting pitchers in Saberhagen and Liebrandt. Plus they had Quis. That is a solid foundation for any team.

Written by kcrb about 4 years ago.

i know all about the pitching staff…i was there… i am just saying that their offense was weak… pitching and defense were great… i just don’t know if a team today can win consistantly without a little more punch in the lineup, besides just one true hitter